Apparatus for manufacturing a crimped crepe yarn



y 8, 1968 K. SCHWABE 3,385,047

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING A CRIMPED CREPE YARN Filed Oct. 31, 1966 a Sheets-Sheet 1 y 28, 1968 K. SCHWABE 3,385,047

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING A CRIMPE ID CREPE YARN Filed Oct. 31, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 6

May 28, 1968 K. SCHWABE 3,335,047

AEPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING A CRIMPED CREPE YARN Filed Oct. 31. 1966 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 7

FIG. 8

FIG. 9

United States Patent 3,385,047 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING A CRIMPED CREPE YARN Kurt Schwabe, Hammelburg, Germany, assignor to Firma Kugelfischer Georg Schafer & Co., Schweinfurt, Germany Filed Oct. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 590,763 Claims priority, application Germany, Nov. 10, 1965, K 57,626 Claims. (Cl. 5777.45)

The invention relates to means for manufacturing a crimped crepe yarn, especially of wholly synthetic thread, and, more particularly, to means of this type which employ at least one twisting tube disposed on a pivotally mounted base plate in conjunction with driving and supporting means, and an endless belt to provide the drive.

For the continuous crimping of wholly synthetic endless threads, such as threads made of polyamide or polyester, by the false twisting method, various kinds of false twisting spindle assemblies have been proposed. In these known devices, the false twisting spindle, also known as a twisting tube, rotates at a high speed of a few hundreds of thousands of revolutions per minute.

These high speed twisting tubes are, with a few exceptions, no longer driven directly by belts as were the lower speed spindles, i.e., those having an upper limit of around 120,000 r.p.m. Rather, these high speed twisting tubes utilize driving and supporting means in the form of friction discs, or the like, which are disposed between the driving belt and the twisting tube. These known friction discs, when mounted on a base plate, form a constructional unit which is generally known as a false twisting spindle assembly. These assemblies can be in the form of single or double spindle assemblies, depending on whether the assembly is adapted to drive one or two twisting tubes, respectively.

These known individual spindle assemblies have been employed in crimped yarn machines in a manner permitting them to be individually adjustable or, when used in pairs, to be adjustable simultaneously. Also, these individual spindle assembles could, even when combined in pairs, be adjusted for right-hand or left-hand twisting by appropriately disposing them in front of, or behind, the driving belt.

In crimped yarn machines in which only one common delivery and take-up device is provided for every two threads, it is preferable to use double spindle assemblies, because on breakage of one of the threads the twisting tube for the other thread also has to be brought to a halt.

In these known double spindle assembles, the driving r and supporting elements for the two twisting tubes are usually arranged on a common base plate so that the two tubes rotate in opposite directions, i.e. one thread receives a right-hand twist and the other a left-hand twist. The use of this assembly is therefore only possible in those cases where it is acceptable to produce simultaneosly one thread having a left-hand twist and one having a right-hand twist. This restriction on the use of crimped yarn machines equipped with such a double spindle assembly has been found to be a disadvantage in practice, especially since there has recently been a demand for yarns having a uniform direction of twist.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device which permits, on the same assembly, the production of two left-hand, two right-hand, or a left-hand and a right-hand twist, respectively, on a pair of threads passing through the assembly.

The production of two left-hand or two right-hand twisted crimped yarns is achieved, according to the present invention, by use of a pin serving as a pivotable bearing and being rigidly connected to a support having two 3,385,047 Patented May 28, 1968 spaced limbs which are displaceable against the action of a spring, but not rotatable, along a carrier member. The spring is adapted to be inserted between one or the other of the two limbs and a pin that can be inserted in the bar, and in either position, urges at least one driving whorl against the belt, the whorls to be used depending on the direction of twist desired. This allows conversion to one or the other direction of rotation in a particularly simple manner without the direction of travel of the belt having to be altered.

To limit the range of pivotal movement of the base plate to the extent necessary for equal engagement of two whorls, a pin secured on the support can be arranged to engage in a hole provided in the base plate of the assembly with substantial play.

Also according to the present invention, a locating arm is spaced from the bar and arranged rigidly on the support and is adapted to engage in a hole provided in th carrier to secure the support against rotation about the bar.

To produce right-hand and left-hand twisted crimped yarns, respectively, on the two threads, the support can be secured on the bar by means of pins in such a position that, after the base plate is turned to its operative position, one driving whorl engages one side of the belt and another driving whorl engages the other side of the belt.

Further and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the description of the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the double spindle assembly of the present invention in which the driving whorls engage against the belt in such a manner that both twisting tubes rotate in the same direction to produce two righthand twists;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1, partly sectioned on the line II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational View looking in the direction 11 in FIG. 1, and rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 2, the displaced position of a disengaging lever being indicated by the broken line;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the double spindle assembly of the present invention in which the driving whorls engage against the belt in such a manner that both twisting tubes rotate in the same direction to produce two lefthand twists;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of FIG. 4, partly sectioned on the line IIIIII in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial side elevational view looking in the direction IV in FIG. 4 and rotated 90 counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 5, the displaced position of the disengaging lever being indicated by the broken lines;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the double spindle assembly of the present invention in which the driving whorls engage the belt in such a manner that the twisting tubes rotate in opposite directions to produce one left-hand and one right-hand twist;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of FIG. 7, partly sectioned on the line VV in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a partial side elevational view looking in the direction VI in FIG. 7 and displaced 90 counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 8, the displaced position of the disengaging lever being indicated in broken lines.

Referring to the drawings, and specifically to FIGS. 1-3, a driving roller 2 and a supporting roller 3 are shown rotatably mounted by means of shafts 2a and 3a respectively, on a base plate 1. Shafts 2a and 3a extend through the base plate to carry whorls 19 on their free ends, and magnets 4 are provided for holding in place the two twisting tubes 5 through which the threads extend during operation. The base plate 1, together with the components mounted on it, forms a complete constructional unit which is mounted for limited pivotal movement about a pin 6 fixed to support 7. A peg 8 secured in the support 7 serves to limit the pivotal movement of the base plate 1 by projecting into a hole 9 in the base plate. The diameter of the hole 9 is a slightly greater diameter than the diameter of the peg 8, thereby limiting the range of pivotal movement of the base plate 1 with respect to support 7.

Limbs 18 and 18 extend from support 7 and are displacable along a bar 10, support 7 being prevented from rotating about the bar by a locating arm 11 extending from bar 18 and guided in a carrier 12 to which the bar is secured. The carrier 12 has its lower end formed appropriately for the mounting of a roller support 13 carrying a back-up roller 14. The carrier 12 thus forms the carrier for the complete double spindle assembly and is secured to a profiled section rail (spindle frame) of a crimped yarn machine through which a driving belt 15 travels along a predetermined line.

A compression spring 16 is carried on the bar 10, and abuts against pin 17 inserted in the bar. In this manner the spring 16 presses against the limb 18 of the support 7, and thereby shifts the latter until the whorl 19 of the driving roller 2 engages against the driving belt 15. The spring 16 is arranged to have a working range such that whorl 19 is pressed against the belt with sufiicient force to be driven by it without slip.

The arrangement of both whorls 19 on the same side of the belt 15, as shown in FIG. 1, results in the belt 15 tending to move away from the whorls under the engaging pressure. This is prevented by the back-up roller 14 which is disposed between the whorls 19 on the opposite side of the belt.

To bring the twisting tubes 5 to a halt, a disengaging lever 20 is provided which urges the driving whorls 19 away from the belt a sufficient distance to bring them out of contact with the belt. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, lever 20 is pivotally mounted on a pin 21 on the bar 10, and has, in addition to the engaging earns 22, fiat surfaces 23 which come into engagement with the limb 18 of the support 7 on pivotal movement of the lever from its horizontal position of FIG. 2, into the position shown by the broken line of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views similar to FIGS. 1 to 3, but show the device converted so that the direction of rotation of the twisting tubes is reversed. In this arrangement, the opposite pair of whorls come into engagement with the belt 15 so that rollers 3 act as driving rollers, and rollers 2 act as supports for the twisting tubes 5. Also, the backup roller 14 is shifted on the roller mounting 13 to match the displacement of the base plate, the relative position between lines 18-18 and bar 10 is changed, and compression spring 16 is shifted so that it acts between pin 17 and the other limb 18' of the support to provide the engaging force.

In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the double spindle assembly is positioned on the bar 10, and the base plate 1 is turned on the pin 6 so that two diagonally opposite whorls come into engagement with opposite sides of the belt 15, causing the two twisting tubes to rotate in mutually opposite directions. In this case the base plate does not have to make any translatory movement, but only a pivotal movement necessary for causing engagement of the whorls. For this purpose, the base plate 1 is secured against linear movement on bar 10 by means of pin 17 which now passes through a hole 24 in support 7 and engages in a hole 25 in bar 10. Also, peg 8 engages in a slot 26 adjacent to the hole 9 in order to allow the larger pivotal movement necessary for engagement of the whorls. The engaging force for the whorls 19 is provided by a tension spring 27 which is hooked onto a peg 28 on the carrier 12, and a peg 29 on the base plate 1.

The double spindle assembly is brought into and out of action by the disengaging lever 20 which, in contrast to the previous arrangements, now also carries a roller 30 secured by means of a screw 31, as shown in FIG. 9. This roller 30 engages against an abutment 32 which is displaced through the distance S by moving lever 20 to the position indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 9.

The change-over from the arrangement in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 to reverse the direction of twist, is achieved by lifting the base plate 1 off the pin 6, removing the pin 17 from bar 10 and displacing the support 7 and the spring 16 towards the carrier 12, whereupon the pin 17 is replaced in the bar 10 after spring 16 has been moved to extend between limb 18 and pin 17. The base plate 1 is then replaced on the pin 6 in a position so that the peg 8 again engages in the hole '9.

To convert to the arrangement of FIGS. 7 and 8, to allow simultaneous twisting in opposite directions, base plate 1 is initially removed, and pin 17 is removed from its original position in bar 10. Then support 7 is moved upward with respect to bar 10 so that hole 24 in the support 7 and hole 25 in the bar 10 are aligned. Pin 17 is then inserted through these holes and base plate 1 is replaced on the pin 6 in an angular position with peg 8 extending into the slot 26. This latter engagement permits the upper whorl on one side of base plate 1 and the lower whorl on the other side to engage the belt 15. Finally, the tension spring 27 is mounted on the pegs 28 and 29 to urge the whorls 19 into engagement with the belt to provide a sufiicient force to drive the above-mentioned whorls and, hence the twisting tubes 5, in opposite directions.

The false twisting spindle assembly according to the invention thus permits simple change-over operations to be effected according to whether two right-hand twists, two left-hand twists, or simultaneous rightand left-hand twists in the yarn are desired.

Variations in the above-mentioned structure can be made, without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the use of magnetic means for retaining the twisting tube against the friction discs. In a similar manner the driving and supporting means for one or two twisting tubes of other known constructions could be arranged on the base plate 1, provided such arrangements permit, without the use of a magnet, the rotation of a twisting tube at high speeds of a few hundreds of thousands of revolutions a minute.

Of course variations in the specific steps herein disclosed can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for producing a crimped yarn, said apparatus comprising a support frame, a support plate mounted on said frame, at least one twisting tube for said yarn rotatably mounted on said plate, a pair of shafts for each twisting tube, said shafts being rotatably mounted on said plate, a roller member fixed to one end of each of said shafts and engaging said twisting tube to rotatably drive said tube, a whorl fixed to the other end of each of said shafts, a driving belt extending between said whorls, a carrier member extending immediately adjacent said frame, means resiliently connecting said carrier mem ber to said frame to urge one of at least one pair of said whorls against said belt to drive their corresponding tube, the positions of said carrier member and said support plate being adjustable with respect to said frame to permit combinations of whorls to engage said belt according to the desired direction of tube rotation.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a locating arm fixed on said frame and engaging in a hole formed in said carrier member to secure said frame against rotation with respect to said carrier member.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a backup roller rotatably mounted on said carrier member, the position of said backup roller with respect to said carrier being adjustable so that said roller can engage the side of said driving belt opposite from the side engaged by one of said whorls to provide a support for said latter engagement.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein there are two sets of tubes, the whorls driving each tube being located on the same side of the driving belt so that said tubes are driven in the same direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said connecting means comprises a pin detachably located in said carrier member, and a spring adapted to be inserted between said pin and either end of said frame, depending on the desired position of said carrier with respect to said frame.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a disengaging lever pivotally mounted on said carrier and having a cam surface adapted to engage said frame to move it with respect to said carrier to disengage the driving whorls from said belt.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein there are two sets of tubes, and wherein said support plate is positioned at an angle with respect to said frame so that the whorls driving each tube are located on opposite sides of the driving belt so that said tubes are driven in opposite directions.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said connecting means comprises a pin extending through holes in said carrier and said frame and a spring attached at one end to said plate and at the other end to said carrier.

9. The apparatus of claim 7., further comprising a disengaging lever pivotally mounted on said carrier and carrying a roller adapted to engage said frame to move it with respect to said carrier to disengage the driving whorls from said belt.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a peg extending from said frame and adapted to engage in a slot formed in said plate to provide limited movement between said plate and said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,855,750 10/1958 Schrenk et al. 5777.45 XR 2,872,769 2/1959 Schagg et a1 5777.45 2,883,824 4/ 1959 Andrews et al. 5777.45 2,914,905 12/1959 Andrews et al. 5777.45 3,044,247 7/ 1962 Hilbert 5777.45 3,333,408 8/1967 Keyser 57104 FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

D. WATKINS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A CRIMPED YARN, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A SUPPORT FRAME, A SUPPORT PLATE MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, AT LEAST ONE TWISTING TUBE FOR SAID YARN ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE, A PAIR OF SHAFTS FOR EACH TWISTING TUBE, SAID SHAFTS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE, A ROLLER MEMBER FIXED TO ONE END OF EACH OF SAID SHAFTS AND ENGAGING SAID TWISTING TUBE TO ROTATABLY DRIVE SAID TUBE, A WHORL FIXED TO THE OTHER END OF EACH OF SAID SHAFTS, A DRIVING BELT EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID WHORLS, A CARRIER MEMBER EXTENDING IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT SAID FRAME, MEANS RESILIENTLY CONNECTING SAID CARRIER MEMBER TO SAID FRAME TO URGE ONE OF AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF SAID WHORLS AGAINST SAID BELT TO DRIVE THEIR CORRESPONDING TUBE, THE POSITIONS OF SAID CARRIER MEMBER AND SAID SUPPORT PLATE BEING ADJUSTABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRAME TO PERMIT COMBINATIONS OF WHORLS TO ENGAGE SAID BELT ACCORDING TO THE DESIRED DIRECTION OF TUBE ROTATION. 